What is Somatic coaching?
The word soma is from the Greek meaning: The living organism in its wholeness. Our soma is our mind, body and spirit. Somatic coaching works through the body as our vessel for transformation.
If you’ve tried with your mind and still haven’t reached your goals, somatic coaching can give you tools to change your life, cultivate your intuition, identify & follow through with your dreams all while feeling a depth of dignity and belonging.
We are inherently somatic beings, this isn’t new work, it is in all of our lineages. Many of us lost connection because of colonization and capitalism and depending on our ancestry, abilities, class and spirituality our bodies have taken on different shapes. This is the work of remembering who we really are.
There is so much intelligence in our bodies capitalism and colonialism have conspired for us to suppress. As a culture our bodies take on the onslaught of constant demands and the trauma of current and past conditions. We often think our way out of feeling and sensation because we simply this is what we have been taught to do, either explicitly or implicitly. In this work I will support you to uncover your natural intelligence and discover more creativity and aliveness.
In our work together your particular social location, life experience and cultural context is explored for the sake of liberation. We will honor the way your body has responded to life circumstances and give you more choices.
Who do I work with?
I welcome all bodies and abilities, and people of all backgrounds. I welcome (and have worked with) artists, activists, healing practitioners, teachers, entrepreneurs, those working in both radical and conventional contexts and more. As someone who is nuerodiverse, chronically ill, physically disabled and politicized through a disability justice framework, I support people in healing from ableism.
What does creativity have to do with it? How about plants?
Ritual, ceremony and what has been come to be known as art are all somatic healing modalities. Through this work you begin to remember the fullness of your authentic self. You may long to break free from your inner critic. This work lends itself to supporting you to live a creative life.
Through somatic healing you may desire to recover and restore healing rites and arts of your ancestors. Reverence for and curiosity about plants, trees, animals and the unseen world may increase.
As a community herbalist, a ritualist, an intuitive person and an art teacher who has focused on healing creative wounds, I am here as your accomplice for this part of your journey. We weave this into our work together.
In our work together you can expect
To identify and make commitments to meet your goals
To receive steady presence, guidance and support from me
An opportunity to transform your life through your body
To learn skills to support the alignment of your values with action in your life
To identify what embodied consent feels like
To hone your intuition and somatic awareness
Zoom and in person sessions
Work with couples and triads:
I support couples and triads to identify collective goals, desires and dreams and work towards the actualization of them. I have worked with couples and families for over a decade in a process I developed. I support you all in negotiating life choices, clarifying shared values and traveling the path of life together.
Cost
$125-$175 sliding scale for a 55 minute individual session. $150-$225 for a 60 minute session with couples or triads. If this pricing is inaccessible for you financially, please inquire via email, I have openings for a couple of clients at a lower sliding scale.
Please be in touch with me via email to set up a complimentary 30 minute meeting to see if it’s a good fit for you:
Please note: Somatic coaching is not therapy. I am not a therapist, nor a couples counselor. This is not an addiction recovery program. I am a community herbalist and not certified to offer medical advice. Though I am a trauma informed practitioner, I am not certified to diagnose or treat mental illness. If I have concerns for your physical or mental health I will refer you to appropriate practitioners.
Why I do this work
I hold precious a dream of the world to come, where all beings are valued and free, where there has been deep healing from harm to our earth and human’s feel a profound sense of belonging to all that is.
It is with this dream, carried in a basket in my heart, I offer the work of somatic and creative embodiment. I partner with you as you come into greater awareness and deeper commitment of your values and dreams. I facilitate a holistic process for the articulation and actualization of your desires. This is done through tapping into your body's inherent wisdom, cultivating a felt sense of connection and nurturing your creative spirit.
I do this work in reverence to the collective transformation we are amidst, creating more space for individual integrity and connection which inherently builds a collective web for benevolent change.
Lineage
Somatics is an expansive field that stems from many different indigenous traditions across the earth. All peoples have used somatic healing from the beginning of our existence. Much of this indigenous knowledge has been appropriated in the field of “somatics.”
My mother is a Feldenkrais practitioner for over 30 years, and her work with me over many decades informs much of my work. I was first introduced to the iteration of politicized somatics a good portion of my practice orients around from ritual healing work, folks practicing Generative Somatics and later training with the Strozzi Institute. My work as a community herbalist, ritualist and intuitive healer is somatic work and I was drawn to healing through practicing and recovering within my own ancestral lineages for almost three decades. I have experienced meditation trainings (in both Jewish traditions and Buddist traditions), work with plants ( Ashkenazi, Sephardic and European folk traditions as well as learning from Indigenous teachers) and preparing oneself and engaging in direct action as a form of somatic embodiment training. I appreciate the Lineage of Embodiment Panel Series from the Embodiment Institute which delves into more explicit conversation around lineage and somatics. As Prentis Hemphill discusses in this series: The term somatics exists because of colonization. You can see a more detailed lineage on my about page.
To learn more about somatics, check out these resources:
What Your Body Has to Do With Social Change by adrienne marie brown
Testimonials
My work with Rebekah has been both grounded and expansive. Their calming presence always puts me at ease. They have met me where I am at, helping me to dig deeper into my present state to understand what my deepest needs and wants are. My work with Rebekah has allowed me to reconnect with my creative self, to touch base with my spiritual self, and has helped to guide me in making pivotal life decisions. YR
I worked with Rebekah one-on-one as I launched into a critical writing project. Rebekah helped me to trust in myself & the lineage of ancestors holding me. This sacred work helped me to fully surrender to my spirit & inner voice, allowing me to write with reverence, liberation & profound authenticity. The way Rebekah weaves creative freedom with Jewish priestess technology resonated deeply with me at exactly the right time.
Rebekah is like a kitchen witch, they look at my shelves of creative ingredients and support me in adding just the right amount of magic to my cauldron in order to manifest my dream potion. They have been elemental in my own witchy growth. I would recommend them to anyone who is ready to step into their power as a creator. Ahlay Blakely
